Ask Angie and YLF - Wit & Wisdom jeans

Wit & Wisdom Absolution Split Hems keep or return? I am particularly self-conscious about my calves. I think they are very muscular for my height. (I can always wear a tunic to cover the rearview but have not yet found the perfect calf disguising top.) DH gave them the thumbs up (which kind of scares me because he often likes more body con than I do) although he thought the hem was "weird".

I see these jeans fit the model's calf closely too, but she has 7+ inches on me in height. If I keep them I might stitch down the slit hem a bit - it is pinned all the way down on the left leg (right and front in photos)

Does anyone other than catalogue models not get the crazy wrinkles around the knee? They don't bug me other others, but my eye just goes there on me.

Also any info on how the petites in this brand compare with the misses in sizing and calf width? If I try this style in another (darker to minimize wrinkles) color, I might try a misses to get enough length for my Bionica Corset Boots to channel my inner supermodel.

Honest feedback is much appreciated - the tags are on.

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Nordstrom

Wit & Wisdom Ab-solution Split Release Hem Jeans

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Børn Born - Womens - Pirlo

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6 years ago

Laurie

Veteran

I just got these exact jeans and I love them. It's my first pair of Wit & Wisdom, and I think I'm a fan already! They are really comfortable, aren't they? I think they look super on you - you look amazingly fit, nothing but goodness. I am only 5'4" but the regular worked better for me than the petite. One of the rare times I actually was in the store to try them on.

karen13

Thanks so much Laurie! I love the fabric on these jeans. So soft! Did you try on both petite and regular in the same size? Do you recall if the Petite was sized much smaller than the regular? Do these stretch out a lot with wear? Have they shrunk (in length or width) at all?

AndiB

I think these are really great on you! The length seems just right, I absolutely love the bell, just the exact right amount of flare. I wouldn't touch them.

shiny

I've got two pairs of W&W jeans, both are petite. One is 0p (a ripped dropped hem pair I got at NAS) and the other is 2p (medium wash I got last Fall), but honestly they both fit me the same so I think it's more about inconsistent sizing.

I have tried the regulars -- in the dark wash only -- for comparison, i.e., I tried a 2p vs a 0 regular. This was last fall. The 0 regular was enormous all over. The 2p was okay, I ended up returning anyway as I didn't like their dark wash denim.

Yes, they DO stretch out a bit with wear. Not so bad that they are sagging and bagging and you are wishing you had bought the next size down. More gently and comfortably -- may be enough to reduce those wrinkles at your knee.

Then again I can't help wonder if those knee wrinkles are because you actually need a regular rather than petite? I.e., is the knee hitting you too high?

And no they do not shrink in the wash.

Style Fan

These are great on you. Perfect fit.

Looking at the pics some more, I think these are just right. By the time you sit in them for an hour, those knee wrinkles will disappear, as they'll loosen up just enough there.

These are the ones I got at NAS:
https://n.nordstrommedia.com/I.....pg&am

They hit me more like full length rather than ankle length but I love them anyway.

Joyce B

They look nice on you. I tried them in regular size and one size up in petite. While I prefered regular for the upper part, I thought there was just too much extra fabric and the slit was all bent over in the regular, so I kept the petite.
I think they wrinkle less if the pants are shorter, maybe also try a petite if it becomes available.

Julie

Active Member

The length looks great and YOU look great. But the calves do look very body-con, so I see what you mean- especially in the front view. If you like the skinny-jean look in that area, it's good.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

LOVE

Keep, Karen.

I like the curve on your calf. Why shouldn't you showcase that glorious curve? Who says it's wrong to do just that. Rock on.

Wrinkled knees tend to happen with jeans with stretch. Wit & Wisdom denim is generally fab - but runs big. They have been especially good on curvier hips and thighs.

Interesting, Angie, as my hips and thighs aren't curvy at all. I think the Ab-solution's are designed for apple shapes, who have thinner hips/legs but wider waists. They've got (hidden) elastic in the waistband which is why I love them! And the other versions (probably the dark denim I tried on last Fall) may be for curvier shapes.

Brooklyn

I think they look really good (I love the hemline) but you have to be comfortable with the jeans hugging your calves. I have muscular calves too and it drives me crazy when some of my jeans cling to them. I can live with thigh hug but calf hug not so much. I end up not reaching for them. But that's my comfort issue, YMMV.

Gaylene

I hear you on knee wrinkles! Actually, these are quite good so I'd vote keep.

My own knee wrinkling theory is that most stretch jeans are designed for women with hips and thighs and relatively slender calves. That poses a problem for those of us who are straighter in the thighs and hips but have muscular calves. What we get is a jean which fits nicely in the top but is stretched tight below the knee at our calves. The looser fabric above the calves can't go anywhere so it settles around the knees. If the jean eventually relaxes enough around the calves to let the fabric drop into place, it usually means the top of the jeans are at the stage where they need a belt to keep them from falling off my hips. *huge sigh*

My solution is to either avoid soft, stretchy jeans--or make peace with a moderate amount of knee wrinkling.

Janet

They look great on you!

They were HORRIBLE on me, but I have thick thighs and knees. They fit very close all the way down the leg, which just emphasized all the worst aspects of my legs, plus they were too short. Im glad to see they work so well for you.

Thank you to everyone for the honest, kind and helpful comments. I do trust this group to tell me tactfully if something should go back, so now I just need to decide if they are me. You are helping push my boundaries in good way. I'm going to wear these a bit to see if the knee wrinkles get better or worse, and order these in a darker wash and in regular length and see if I prefer that.

AndiB You are so kind.
Shiny - Thanks so much for the detailed responses. I actually get worse wrinkles in a regular length when jeans are close fitting because the knee break is too low. But sometimes petites are cut so much slimmer, and not just shorter, that a reg size is a better overall fit.
Joyce B These are the petites, but I think I might try the reg to see.
Angie - Thank you for the honest, body positive message you always put forth. Your summer body challenge last year got me to try a skirt for the first time in many years.
Brooklyn - Same! - my "powerful" quads and hamstrings are certainly on display here too, but it somehow doesn't bother me as much.
Gaylene - that is it exactly! I have a pair of bootcut that skims over my calves beautifully, but the waist and hip need to be taken in 2 inches, and then the pockets would look funny! OK with a belt and long top, but not the look I'm going for.
Janet - I can't imagine your legs looking horrible in these! I suspect you were looking through the same self-critical eyes I am struggling with.

anchie

They look great and actually like the curve of your calf Keep!

Tanya

They look great on you and I would keep them for sure. I have an old pair of skinny W&W in brocade print and they have held up very well.

Karen, YAY. I LOVE hearing that.

Shiny, I know it's counter-intuitive. NYDJs and Wit & Wisdom jeans work well for BOTH apple and pear shapes - oddly enough. Curvy in different places. It's about size manipulation, and the right cut in each brand.

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